Panzanella Salad

Second salad for the Spring season and i've gone for one similar to my very favorite salad- caprese! The Panzanella salad is of Italian origin and is primarily composed of bread and tomatoes. The bread soaks up the olive oil and balsamic and adds a delicious crunch and carbohydrate satiety to the dish.

A note on tomatoes: as we get into the hotter months, the time for the best tomatoes (late summer) draws nearer and nearer! Gone are the the hard, tasteless round globes that we must satisfy ourselves with in Autumn and Winter, and in come the delicious, intensely flavored real deal! If you're a supermarket shopper there is a great tomato available at coles now in a package called 'Intense'. They're marketed as being low in the moist innards of your standard tomato and thus as being ideal for sandwiched. But they're also grown in DIRT (a rarity now) and are strongly flavored, ideal for this salad!

Tuscan Tomato Soup

Today was such a beautiful day in Melbourne. The sun was shining but there was a light breeze. The air was fresh and the mood was peaceful on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I have similar dreams of Tuscany, though in truth i know little of the Italian region nor it's climate. But when i read the word 'Tuscan' in a dish's title i am transported to rich tomato sauces and suckling roast pig. What better a day to make a Tuscan tomato soup, rich and satisfying but simultaneously light, redolent with fresh basil and begging to be devoured with a crusty Pana Di Casa and a rich red wine.

Chilled Tomato & Bread Soup Cordoba Style

Some of the greatest foods are born of simplicity and that is what i love about the Movida cookbook. Movida owner Frank Camorra talks of the heart of spanish cuisine, and every recipe i have cooked has focused around bringing out the true essence in one or two core ingredients. To that extent i think of his restaurants, i would probably prefer the lower keyed taverna style Movida Next Door, over the opulent dishes of Movida itself.

This is yet another recipe i have lifted from Movida's cookbook: and this time, i have not played one bit with the recipe (except to halve it so i'm not eating it for the next 6 months). I can tell this soup is best made in the summer when tomatoes are at their best; do not skimp, and ensure you use fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. And don't use Wonder White bread!